The experiment, damn it he hated thinking of this word, it make him cruel, went well. But not halfway. By pouring a repeated amount of magic into the possessed victim, Tatsumi felt his body's strength growing at an observable rate. After surging it with his magic, he waited for his body to recover, then pour again, and recover, and recurred.
His magic control had improved; denser, more vital, and stronger.
One day, while focusing on controlling his magic, in a flash of light, he barely notices the lump of meat changing into a young female blond elf at an age similar to him. The changes instantly appeared the moment he was able to entirely suppress and contain the magic deviation.
"I guess I just found a simple cure to the most demonic-created disease in history?" Tatsumi asks no one. A distant growl in agreement echoed in the back of his mind. Who knew something that decomposed could revert to normal from a simple solution?
It's been almost a month since he found it–her. While thinking of that lump of meat-turned-girl, Tatsumi sighs while standing in a broken house with her in that same abandoned village.
The moment she returned to normal, he was ashamed the first thing he noticed about her was her lack of clothes, practically exposing herself to his young mind. She doesn't seem to care about that, however. He thought elves were mature mentally despite their physical body age.
Barely, the unconscious elf opens her blue eyes. The same one her Demon Possessed self had. Tatsumi wearily looked at her while leaning over a wooden crate. It's natural to be cautious for an assassin in this harmless-looking situation. After all, he could feel the month's worth of magic he poured inside her. She could be experienced in spells and might mistake him to be a, ugh, a rapist.
"You're awake."
The elf slowly sat up, her eyes staring at him before they gazed at her hands. Her eyes widened, "I'm..."
She touched her hands and body, feeling her skin and familiar warmth, "But– I can't be!"
He watches her reaction, staying silent while she feels up her lithe figure that he's trying to avert his eye from.
"T–this! It's impossible!"
He spoke, alerting her of his presence and drawing her eyes, "Uhm. Will you be alright?"
"H–huh? Y–you, how did you?"
"I broke your curse." He said simply as her eyes widened. "So, I guess you're free now?"
"You did this?" She raises a question, unsure. As if she had no clue of what transpired.
"What curse?" Tatsumi blinked at her response. She really had no idea.
He confirmed and recap, "The curse created by the Demon King called Demon Possession. A horrid curse cast on the descendants of the Three Heroines from the distant legends."
Her face remained confused.
Tatsumi grabbed a nearby book that he borrowed from the Kagenou Library. "I know you're consternated. But, you probably heard of the infamous fairy tale recorded in the historic scriptures about the Three Heroes that saved the world after defeating the Demon King Diablos."
The book is one of the many he borrowed and goes over in his daily training. This one contained a front page depicting the figures of the Three Heroes.
However, it wasn't just from this book he learned all of this. He killed and forcefully extracted a lot of information from the cultists he captured over the month.
"Most of the world believes the story is a myth. What they don't know is that this legend, among any certain others, are all factual." He saw her eyes widen, full of shock.
"Diablos' Demon Possession curse is the reason why you're a rotting flesh before. Being a descendant of the Elf Olivier, you are cursed with Demon Possession. And as the children of the Three Heroes, they were supposed to be thanked, valued, insulated, and extolled. But this was forgotten, as history had been distorted. They hide the truth of being the symbol of the heroes, hiding the method to treat the curse, and even treat victims like you as a target of scorn. As the result of your former state, you were cast out of society."
A harsh truth, he spoke. He could feel malice started to leak out from him, blaming those with higher power. Everywhere he goes, looking for a good life like at the beginning of his adventure in the Empire, evil always pounces when you're at your happiest.
"The ones who revised history to hide the corrupted truth, the ones that killed many others before you, the ones responsible for several immoral deeds." Experimenting with innocent children like the Three Heroines in their childhood, cooperating with the Church to trade business using the Possessed victims, and manipulating the public by corrupting the Royalty from the inside of the Kingdom; the Cult of Diablos is no better than Honest.
"The–" Tatsumi cease speaking the answer. He realized, wouldn't she be in danger if she knew who was responsible for the whole thing? With her mature mind, she would only carelessly go after them and get herself killed.
"No... I can't say." Tatsumi's eyes lower. He is the experienced one here. He will be the only one who goes after and deals with them himself. Her ignorance is for her sake.
"It's for the best."
"I don't care."
Tatsumi's eyes shot to the elf who responded with determination. Her blue eyes are full of resolution and pump up. Almost as if she's ready to do an insane thing while knowing the risks.
It reminds him of himself when he sets out to the Empire, full of innocence, but would grow powerful in time.
She leaned to him closer, "Who did this to me?"
Tatsumi is silent for a moment, "The Cult of Diablos." She recoiled back, and he imagined her burrowing the information deep within her head.
"As the name suggests, a zealous cult that did their endeavors in the name of their revered Demon King Diablos and hopes to revive it."
The elf gritted her teeth and Tatsumi could sense the killing intent from her.
"Being a descendant and inheriting the blood of one, not only you are afflicted with the Demon Possession, Diablos' Curse, but you also have a naturally high amount of magic capabilities. In history, descendants of the Three are the world's cherished military strength against the Cult and obstacles to them. That's why the Church, who are the Cult's affiliates, spread rumors of the Curse of Diablos and executed them." The lowest of the low, Tatsumi mentally agreed.
"Long ago, the Curse has been found a cure for it. As I said, the Cult hides the cure to prevent victims being reverted back to normal." The reality that the elf's skin is now unblemished like she had never been afflicted with demon possession is genuine.
"But, until now, I used a cure to your possession that most don't know. I intend to use it for other victims I can find. I'll be telling you later the method."
"Back to the Cult, they never stand in public stage, concealing themselves in the shadow. They operated worldwide to control different affairs. Using their powers from Diablos, they maintained the society under their control, all the while abducting and experimenting on the descendants to improve themselves. Although considered a myth today, I, and now you, are now aware about them, and know about them as something to be opposed and defeated."
Tatsumi held out his hand, a clenched fist. The Cult is an organization that needs to be stopped. A government that thinks that can do whatever they wants to do with people's lives. As a matter of course, he will create a group that can battle against the Cult. An organization of his own with an army that can be evenly matched. A faction that is reminiscent of his old group that starts with very few members, and in time, will grow with large numbers that will make up a major force.
If the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid war against the Empire to free the people from corruption,
Then his new group will war against the Cult of Diablos to expose the truth to the world.
He can feel it, deep inside him, the Tyrant reeks of hunger to invade this cult. To destroy and to conquer.
"Due to that, I am on a sole mission to eliminate and wipe out their evil deeds, leaving nothing of the Cult alive. I will kill, I will take lives, and I will torture. The world wouldn't see my methods as acceptable, and that is why, I will also remain out of sight."
The air began to heat up and warp. This is caused by the unseen presence of a dragon letting out its desire and hunger from Tatsumi's body. The slime body suit was weak against the Tyrant's forceful aura, and it proceeded to contort like wind in a storm.
"I am an assassin. Someone who strikes using deceitful and cowardly means, but uses it to protect the lives of innocents. Hiding in the darkness and accepting sin in my nature, I fought against greater evil and will someday be forgotten once the world is in peace."
The Tyrant responded to Tatsumi's proclamations, unleashing more of its presence for the elf to feel. "My name is Tatsumi Kagenou. You may call me Tyrant as my alias."
The air began to shake and the ground convulsed. She blinked in awe as she muttered, "Tatsumi... Tyrant."
"The path I'm on is full of dangers where you can die the moment your guard is down. Regardless, peace is something I'm seeking for this world."
The ambiance calms down as the air returns to normal again. He walked towards her and held her gaze, holding out his hand. "For that cause, I extend my hand, an invitation, for you to join me in my difficult mission."
All was silent as the elf and the human gazed at the eyes of each other. Blue and Green lock in a meaningful look.
The girl finally responded after a moment of silence, "...When... I fell ill—, I mean, when I was stuck with the curse, I had lost everything in my life. At that moment, my only fate was to waste away as a hideous beast. But you saved me."
She faced him, and he was mentally struck with wonder at the familiar look in her eyes. Eyes full of promised determination to set things right. He had that look when he accepted himself as an assassin.
"So... If it is what you wish. I will give you my life. On top of that, this is my own wish as well. We shall succeed without fail." She held her palm to her chest, the posture almost like a respecting standpoint. Fixing her young and beautiful eyes which are filled with resolve and firm purpose.
"And I will punish the guilty with death." A declaration of her own that shook the room. She held his hand and his slime suit reached out and covered her body, gradually forming a black cloak of her own.
Tatsumi lowly sighed, whether in relief or apprehension, he didn't know. But he felt something was lifted from his shoulders from her acceptance. "We'll be facing against various enemies, including influential government leaders and powerful beings. The people under their control might not even know the truth."
The slime is almost complete forming into a cloak to cover her modesty. "Nevertheless, I cannot show mercy to any who stand in our way."
The words she spoke reminded Tatsumi of a certain girl in black.
She fully stands up, holding a resolute gaze and he notices she's a little taller than him. "We will need to find the other hero descendants and take them under our wing."
"That's the plan." Tatsumi nods. In fact, it was the first thing he thought the moment he healed the elf from her Demon Possession.
She continued still with that determined look in her eyes going more intense and stepped closer to him. Tatsumi leaned back slightly. "As we expand our organization, we'll need to strengthen our base of operations accordingly. We need to collect funds on that end."
"We worry about funds sooner, but for now, we start small." He explained, "The organization we'll be developing is a secretive group that will someday grow into a major force against the Cult. As for the name..."
While he's tempted to name it after his old group, he would like to honor it in another way.
He wanted a name that conveyed symbolic meanings for the enigmatic nature of this group. An easy-to-remember name that strikes a balance between being mysterious and straightforward, making it likely to stick in people's minds.
A name that aligns with the ethical and moral principles of a peace-seeking organization. Something that people may wonder about the meaning behind the name and can be strategically used for awareness and recruitment.
"Night Garden..."
A garden at night is less visible and can represent a discreet and covert nature of operations. Garden also symbolizes growth, associated with renewal and life. Growth in numbers and of peace and harmony in the darkness and hidden corners of the world.
"Night Garden. What a wonderful name."
Today, at this very moment, Night Garden came to be. A two-member group that will hunt their targets in the night with operations and functions identical to the inspired Night Raid.
As for the girl, she didn't have most memories of her identity, including her name. As Tatsumi is worse at naming, he has to scour his mind for a long list of possible feminine names he could remember in both lives. He then stumbled on the thought of an index of a book he read in Lubbock's library about a distant country's different linguistic letters as names.
It was called the Phoenician alphabet used by, Greek people, was it? The letters are 24 in total, and the letters have fairly stable and consistent symbol-to-sound mappings, making their pronunciation predictable.
Seeing as she is the first member of the group besides him, she should be, "...Alpha."
The land of the Kagenou manor is just like any other normal day. Birds chirping, riverside drifting, trees swishing. The day is accompanied by steel clanking with steel.
Flash forward to about 3 years since the establishment of Night Garden. Tatsumi and Alpha are now 13 years old, and his older sister Claire is now 15.
Night Garden had remained secretive throughout the last three years after Tatsumi and Alpha had co-founded it, and together, the two set to work immediately, searching for other possessed victims and recruiting six more children in the first year after being similarly cured. The eight spent the next following months in training and learning from Tatsumi's advantageous previous life knowledge.
Tatsumi used his familiarity with his past life's world to incorporate into the girls' minds. Subjects from combat and warfare are the major things he taught them. As the world is cruel, they need to learn how to defend themselves. Proficiency in weapons, martial arts, strategies and tactics, operations and logistics, and psychology methods.
Not only their intellect have expanded and enhanced, but they also become more resilient and resourceful. They also adopted his empathy, compassion, and vigilance.
Boom!
A shockwave of dust exploded from the ground left by Tatsumi's foot, sending him in the direction of his older sister who was standing calmly.
His hand held his training sword, feeling air rush past him. A clang sparked as Claire deterred his blade with her own. Claire took a step back while in the lock as she grinned, feeling her clothes blowing to the rushing air from the collision of the sword.
Claire pushed him back harshly and moved to her brother in a mere second, causing him to shift his head away from the opponent's sword. However, a small-inch cut appeared on his neck. He hurled over to the side and struck down at Claire. Blocking him, she responded with a swirling movement, shifting her foot on the ground while the other circled to follow her body.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Today is the day Claire should set off to the capital. There is a Kingdom law; at the age of 15, noble children will have to attend an academic school of high-esteemed in the royal capital for at least three years.
Their mother is thrilled for this day, as Claire is technically the rising hope of the Kagenou family. Tatsumi finds it slightly disturbing that their father and mother are exhilarated to not see their daughter for the next three years. If it were any normal parents from his old world, they would be sorrowful at the lack of children in their house.
Clang!
Clang!
Tatsumi was pushed back from a strong sword swipe as he was jumping midway, making him soar to the river beside them. The water splashed underneath his boots, reaching his upper body, and he knew he failed to avoid out of the training radius.
"Well, you win again." Stepping upward and concentrating magic, his feet placed themselves above the water. Tatsumi smiled at his sister for her victory like any before.
Tatsumi: 823.
Claire: 1,049.
They spar two times almost every day for the last five years, until now, and that's 1,872 in total. But who's counting?
Claire looks at him in the distance from the land, "He's keeping up, at least." She murmured, unaware of Tatsumi's enhanced senses hearing her. He recoiled slightly, scratching his neck.
One of the maids of the household approaches them, "Miss Claire."
His sister turned towards the maid, "Yes?"
"Your mother is calling. The guests are arriving for your farewell party."
She nodded and turned towards her approaching brother. "Tatsumi, I won't be able to practice with you for a while, but you make sure to continue training on your own."
"Don't worry, you know that's what I always do in my free time." Tatsumi faces his older sister with a soft smile and charming lush, sparkling, emerald eyes that can captivate any–
"You, prepare a towel and a change of clothes for him." Claire said to the maid in a hurried tone. She turned her head, trying to control the rising redness on her cheek.
Tatsumi looks at her in confusion.
The Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy is known as the most prestigious academy for Dark Knights for the capital of the continent, attracting talented students inside and outside the Midgar Kingdom, and where Claire should be attending it as a formality.
In this age, those with high status can live near the school, while the students of lesser status, the commoners, are obligated to live in dormitories off-campus. Unfair discrepancies in familial status.
Claire, being enrolled, was expected to up and be ready to be picked on the day of her departure.
Except, the sight he's standing on lets out the counter answer. What used to be a typical personal bed for his older sister that she always neatly tidied up after waking up in the morning, is now in shambles.
The case she packed was wide open; female clothes unfolded, books loose, and other essentials left outside of it.
The chair had been overturned, the nightstand and lamp dropped, the bed sheet crumbled, and the balcony door left open. All of this points to a single answer; an indication of conflict with the outcome being taken against her will.
His sister had been kidnapped.
A family picture of four lay on the ground cracked and broken its frame.
At the moment, the Kagenou household is in enormous tumult. His family maids and butlers worked to repair what was broken while his parents were shaking.
The baron's hands are twitching, fingers spasming in anger, "What is the meaning of this?!"
The enraged shout made everyone flinch; it was understandable.
He gritted his teeth and eyes widened in just fury. "Even attacking her in her sleep, how could they overpower Claire?!"
"The scoundrel must have been a master fighter!" The baron tried to find the reason.
"Then we have to accept this?" Tatsumi moved away from the sudden killing intent radiating from his mother. She's smiling, but this didn't fool him at all. "Is that what you're saying?"
"Oh, no, that's not what I meant. Not at all. I was just stating a fact—"
Tatsumi looks at the pitiful scene of his father being a victim of his mother in front of him along with a maid by his side. But, Tatsumi's eyes are more focused on the room than the scene, his eyes narrowed.
There was nothing that he could have done. The kidnapping happened at night but he was at the abandoned village at that time dealing matters with his group.
"Stop making excuses, bald man!"
Bang!
"Take that and that and that!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Bang!
"Go find our daughter, dammit!"
Bang!
Tatsumi and his personal maid had already left the room by the first strike from his mother, quietly listening to the one-sided bickering. He could only feel sorry for his father and silently wish him to survive against the wrathful housewife.
Bang!
"What are we going to do if something happens to poor Claire?!"
BANG!
Far enough that they were no longer able to hear the ruckus, Tatsumi called to the maid beside him without taking his eyes away from in front of him. "Beta..."
A black slime woosh from the maid's clothes, covering her and changing her appearance, revealing an elf of short white hair in contrast to her disguise. She puts on a reading glass on her cat-like green eyes and a mole under her eye. She worked as one of his family maids to act as a messenger between the group. The third person to join Night Garden, Beta.
"Yes, Lord Tyrant?"
His eyebrows twitched at the formality full of devotion. Ever since his first member and partner Alpha had recruited them, no– more like adopting lost strays, the current members of Night Garden have been addressing him with high respect enough to rival a priest worshipping his goddess. He's not exactly sure why their reverence originated, but it must been from the influence of his beliefs and values. That and Alpha's been teaching them behind his back.
For the past years, he just subconsciously ignored it and saw it as their way of expressing their appreciation and attachment.
"Where's Alpha?"
"Searching for clues to finding Miss Claire."
"She moves fast." Tatsumi mentally commended her quick thinking and decision-making. Knowing her, she must already be at their hideout planning with the three other members while the other two are on reconnaissance.
Returning to his room, Beta closed the door and continued, "The kidnapper, as expected, belongs to that Cult, a high-ranking officer."
"Any suspicion why they took her?" His eyes narrowed again.
"We believe they suspect Miss Claire is one of the descendants." Beta laid down a map she had hidden, watching Tatsumi dazed.
"That's impossible. Why would she be a descendant? Wait." Tatsumi's mind started to flash backward to days before, weeks, months, and years. He went through all he could remember, anything that could clarify his premonitions.
"Don't tell me, Claire actually developed Demon Possession in secrecy and hid it?" She's a smart but a certain kind of girl, of course, she would. Glimpsing to his memories again, he remember her acting stiff when she turned age at 14 last year. She would cough and turn pale. At that time, he noticed her magic acting noncompliance to her every time she built it up, like an imbalance between it and her body. Her body would also be vulnerable to disease and illnesses. All this time...
"Look at this map. We have determined the locations of their hideouts, based on our latest intel. But we don't know which is the one where they are keeping her." The map on the table has a variety of arrows and markings as well as mathematical equations. Tatsumi analyzed the locations and asked,
"Where did you get the map?"
"Huh? It belonged to that one that we raided. I only modified it."
"That map is a fake." Tatsumi deduced, watching Beta balk at his response,
"It's a bluff?!"
"Some geographic positions are wrong, I've already been there. They must have expected to be intruded by enemies, like the Kingdom, so they fabricated that." The Cult is starting to be one-level tricky, but they don't have something to repel against his tricks.
"Besides, you don't need a map." Tatsumi smiled wryly. "I already have my sister's scent."
Being a partial Danger Beast has its perks.
Especially if it's a dragon.
"Contact the Seven. We move tonight..."
"–and save my sister."